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This article is about the unit in Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten. For the unit in Age of Empires, see Elephant Archer (Age of Empires). |
| “ | Slow and heavy mounted archer. | ” |
| —Age of Empires II description | ||
The Elephant Archer is a heavy mounted archer in Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten. It has low speed but very high hit points, and is available at the Archery Range starting in the Castle Age. It can be upgraded to Elite Elephant Archers in the Imperial Age.
Originally, (Elite) Elephant Archers were the Castle unique unit of the Indians. In Dynasties of India, they lost that status to now become a regional unit for the Bengalis, Dravidians, and Gurjaras (but not for the Hindustanis).
Tactics[]
Slow and durable, the Elephant Archer is the toughest archer unit in the game. This durability comes at a cost, however; it is the most expensive archer unit in the game considering civilization bonuses. It does not come with an increased offensive capability in exchange for this cost, with the same attack and basic rate of fire as the Cavalry Archer. An army of Elephant Archers will have dramatically more hit points, but a fraction the offensive power of an equal-cost army of standard archers. However, the strength of this unit relies on a population-efficiency factor rather than on a cost effectiveness.
Like the other elephant units, Elephant Archers are highly vulnerable to Pikemen and Monks. Being also a mounted archer, they are highly vulnerable against Elite Skirmishers. Furthermore, Flaming Camels deal bonus damage, for a total of 200 damage against elephant units, and are thus simply lethal for packed groups of Elephant Archers.
While vulnerable to said counter units, they survive against other units much better than standard archers. While most foot and mounted archers die to the Mangonel in one and two shots respectively, they can take six and be barely alive. Their huge size also means that Mangonels are hitting only a few units at once. While the example of the Mangonel is an extreme case, their resilience to attacks is incomparable to most archers. In addition to their hit points, they have 2 pierce armor naturally, which makes them stronger against archers. Compared to melee elephants, whose biggest counters are Monks, the Elephant Archer at least has a fighting chance, unlike melee elephants which get converted before reaching the Monks.
The Elephant Archer's high hit points dictate that it should be used as a damage sponge, like the War Elephant. However, being ranged means that they will be at the back most of the times. This can be circumvented by using units with even more range. While Crossbowmen fulfill that criteria, it is impractical to use two units fulfilling the same role. Good examples include Monks and ranged siege weapons. This was a design issue for the Indians, as they had three units fulfilling the ranged support role, viz Elephant Archers, Cavalry Archers, and Hand Cannoneers, any combination of which could not achieve much.
Each civilization that has access to the Elephant Archer has bonuses and unique technologies that may make their use a bit different. However, since none of the civilizations have Parthian Tactics, it will be ignored.
Bengalis[]
Bengali Elephant Archers specialize in defense, receiving -25% bonus damage and conversion resistance, as well as full Blacksmith and Stable technologies. This makes them a highly efficient option, as it enables this unit to resist Pikemen and Monks (in some cases even defeating them, if those counter-units are deployed in similar numbers).
Their unique technology Paiks increases their fire rate by 20%, more than offsetting the fire rate boost of Thumb Ring, which they lack. They are still limited to 70% accuracy, which is an issue in lower numbers. While they can still serve a defensive role, and can be reasonably effective when massed in the late game, they are still vulnerable to Elite Skirmishers due to the huge bonus damage they take, which can limit all-in use.
Dravidians[]
Dravidian Elephant Archers are the most offensively powerful of the three. They do not get access to Bloodlines, rendering them comparably vulnerable when facing melee damage. However, in the Imperial Age, they are better against ranged attack than the Gurjaras, which do not have Ring Archer Armor.
With all attack technologies, plus their civilization bonus that makes Elephant Archers fire 25% faster, they are the fastest-firing archers in the game, slightly outclassing even Mongol mounted archers. This makes them the most reasonable choice as the bulk of an army, rather than as a damage sponge; even being more cost-efficient than Crossbowmen against some high-armor units. Even better, they regenerate 30 hit points per minute after Medical Corps is researched, which roughly compensates for the lack of Bloodlines, and can make them an extremely efficient option in the long term, if protected.
Gurjaras[]
Gurjara Elephant Archers Gurjara Elite Elephant Archers are the easiest to deploy of all three as they start with +25% faster creation speed due to their team bonus, and can cost -25% food with their Kshatriyas technology.
However, their improvements in the Imperial Age make them significantly different than the other two civilizations' Elephant Archers. Firstly, they lack Ring Archer Armor, but have the Frontier Guards technology, the latter of which increases their (and Camel Riders') melee armor by +4 for a total of +3 over other Elephant Archers and is much more expensive. Hence, they are relatively weaker against archers but more resilient against melee units, especially Light Cavalry. Next, they have access to Heresy but not Faith.
While Gurjara Elephant Archers have several potent bonuses, their broadly poor late game, high technology investment, and the presence of the Shrivamsha Rider unit (which broadly fills the same anti-archer role) makes this a particularly niche unit to justify.
Comparison among civilizations[]
| Civilization |  Bengalis
|
 Dravidians
|
 Gurjaras
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | 60 food, 80 gold | 60 food, 80 gold | 45 food, 80 gold |
| Time | 32 | 32 | 25.6 |
| Hit points | 250 | 230 | 250 |
| Firing rate | 1.67 | 1.36 | 1.7 |
| Accuracy | 70% | 100% | 100% |
| Extras | Receive -25% bonus damage Resistant to conversion |
Regenerate 0.5 HP/s |  Heresy (die upon getting converted)
|
Similarities:
- Pierce attack - 6+2
- Armor - 0+2/0+2
- Range - 4+2
- Attack bonus - none
- Speed - 0.99
Further statistics[]
| Strengths and weaknesses | |
|---|---|
| Strong vs. | Slow non-ranged units, archers |
| Weak vs. | Pikemen, Kamayuks, Berserks, Genoese Crossbowmen, Huskarls, Mamelukes, Camel Riders, Eagle Warriors, Monks, Elite Skirmishers, Scorpions, Flaming Camels |
| Technologies | |
|---|---|
 Hit points
|
 Bloodlines (+20)
|
 Regeneration
|
 Medical Corps (regenerate 30 HP per minute, Dravidians only)
|
| Attack |  Fletching (+1) Bodkin Arrow (+1) Bracer (+1) Chemistry (+1)
|
 Range
|
Fletching (+1) Bodkin Arrow (+1) Bracer (+1)
|
| Accuracy |  Thumb Ring (increases accuracy to 100%) Ballistics (hit moving targets)
|
| Armor |  Padded Archer Armor (+1/+1) Leather Archer Armor (+1/+1) Ring Archer Armor (+1/+2) Frontier Guards (+4/+0, Gurjaras only)
|
| Conversion resistance |  Devotion (+1 min, +1 max) Faith (+4 min, +4 max) Heresy (die upon getting converted, Gurjaras only)
|
 Attack speed
|
Thumb Ring (+18%) Paiks (+20%, Bengalis only)
|
 Movement speed
|
 Husbandry (+10%)
|
| Resource cost | Kshatriyas (-25% food, Gurjaras only)
|
| Creation speed |  Conscription (+33%)
|
| Civilization bonuses | |
|---|---|
| Damage resistance | Bengalis (-25% bonus damage)
|
| Conversion resistance | Bengalis (+3 min, +1 max)
|
| Attack speed
|
Dravidians (+25%)
|
| Team bonuses | |
|---|---|
| Conversion resistance |  Teutons (+3 min, +1 max)
|
| Line of Sight |  Tatars (+2)
|
| Creation speed |  Britons (+10%) Gurjaras (+25%) Magyars (+25%)
|
Team bonuses[]
- Britons: Elephant Archers are upgraded 10% faster. Researching Thumb Ring is 10% faster.
- Bulgarians: Researching technologies at the Blacksmith is 80% faster.
- Huns: Researching Bloodlines and Husbandry is 20% faster.
- Lithuanians: Researching Devotion and Faith is 20% faster.
- Malians: Researching Chemistry and Ballistics is 80% faster.
- Portuguese: Technologies that benefit Elephant Archers are researched 25% faster.
Changelog[]
The Forgotten[]
- The Elephant Archer is the first unique unit of the Indians, which do not have access to Ring Archer Armor.
- The Elephant Archer and the Elite Elephant Archer use the same model.
- Elephant Archers cost 110 food, 80 gold.
- The upgrade to Elite Elephant Archer costs 1,200 food, 800 gold and takes 60 seconds.
- Elephant Archers have 250 HP, 4 pierce armor, -2 archer and 0 cavalry archer armor, +3 attack against standard buildings and stone defenses, a reload time of 2.5, 0.8 speed, 100% accuracy, and a training time of 25 seconds.
The African Kingdoms[]
- Indians get access to Ring Archer Armor.
- Elephant Archers cost 100 food, 80 gold.
- The upgrade to Elite Elephant Archer costs 1,000 food, 800 gold.
- Elephant Archers have 280 HP, 3 pierce armor.
Rise of the Rajas[]
- With patch 5.8, Elephant Archers have 0 archer and -2 cavalry archer armor.
Definitive Edition[]
- With update 37650, Elephant Archers cost 100 food, 70 gold and their reload time is reduced to 2.0.
Dynasties of India[]
- Elephant Archers are no longer a unique unit, and are now available at the Archery Range for the Bengalis, Dravidians, and Gurjaras (but not for the Hindustanis).
- Elephant Archers have a new appearance, while Elite Elephant Archers retain the previous model.
- Elephant Archers cost 90 food, 70 gold, have 230 HP, 2 pierce armor, 70% accuracy, 0.9 speed, 34 seconds training time, -7 Cavalry Archer armor, no attack bonuses, and researching Elite Elephant Archer takes 80 seconds.
- With update 66692, Elephants Archers have -4 Cavalry Archer armor and cost 80 food, 70 gold.
- With update 81058, Elephant Archers train in 32 seconds and the Elite Elephant Archer upgrade costs 900 food, 500 gold.
Chronicles: Battle for Greece[]
- With update 141935, Elephant Archer cost changed from 80 food, 70 gold to 60 food, 80 gold.
Heroes[]
There are two heroes in the game with the appearance of an Elephants Archer:
History[]
People from the Pre-Indic Indus civilization were the first to tame elephants, roughly around 4,000 years ago in Indus valley for agricultural purpose. Later on, Indic-speaking newcomers from the steppes introduced horses and familiarized themselves with tame elephants. The first military application of elephants dates from around 1100 BC and is mentioned in several Sanskrit hymns. War elephants were used either to charge and trample enemy troops directly, or to carry archers and spear throwers who can attack from the top. Elephant's sheer height and mass offered considerable protection for their riders.[1]
Trivia[]
- The Elephant Archer is the first unit in Age of Empires II to lose its unique unit status.
- In the mod version Forgotten Empires and the retail version The Forgotten, up to patch 3.4, the Elephant Archer was represented by an Age of Empires Composite Bowman mounted atop a War Elephant. The Elephant Archer got redesigned in patch 3.5. Further redesigns were made in patch 3.6.
- Since patch 3.6, Elephant Archers have a wheel-like symbol at their sides. The symbol is known as Dharmachakra (lit: wheel of law) and symbolizes the spiritual change in Buddhism.[2]
- After update 37650 of the Definitive Edition, elephant heads will appear peeking out of Transport Ships loaded with 10 Elephant Archers or other elephant units.
- Every time the Elephant Archer attacks, the arrows will launch from the elephant's head instead from the rider's bow.
- The Elephant Archer was often seen by players as one of the worst unique units in the game. This was mostly because of their highly situational uses, fairly high cost, and the amount of weaknesses that they had due of the great amount of armor classes. Changes in Dynasties of India were aimed at making it more viable since it is created at Archery Ranges, moves slightly faster and costs less food. The unit has been nerfed accordingly, but it is now easier to use.
- Additionally, the Elephant Archer received additional -5 cavalry archer armor, meaning they receive an extra +7 bonus attack from Skirmishers, Genitours, and Camel Archers. This extra bonus damage was reduced in update 66692 to +4.
- Before Dynasties of India, non-elite Skirmishers did not receive the intended +2 attack bonus against Elephant Archers as a bug due to not having the corresponding armor class of attack.
- The usage of an archer on top of a war elephant can be traced back to the Carthaginian era as a countermeasures against cavalry, therefore a war elephant is still able to attack enemy at close range. The lack of a melee attack of the Elephant Archer is due to limitations of the game engine.
- In the beta, Elephant Archers had the same pierce armor as now, and Parthian Tactics did not affect their attack against Pikemen.
Gallery[]
